We’ve just crossed over the halfway mark in this 2016 season
so as promised, it’s time to fire up some more top moments. This was fun to throw together just like the
first edition, and as always these are my own opinions. So here are the top five moments we saw from
the second quarter of the 2016 season. Enjoy!
5. The Baltimore Orioles set the MLB record for home runs in a single month.
On June 30th, Hyun Soo Kim’s home run against
Seattle propelled the Orioles past the 1996 Athletics for the most home runs
hit in a single month. Baltimore put up
56 in June, passing Oakland’s previous mark of 55. The Orioles certainly have one of the better
lineups in the American League, and a big part of their success from a power
standpoint has been the addition of Mark Trumbo, who currently shares the MLB
lead with Kris Bryant at 24 home runs.
It’s certainly an impressive feat and I’m sure AL pitchers are glad June
is over.
4. Carlos Santana gives the Indians a franchise record 14th consecutive win.
What a time to be a Cleveland fan. I don’t think anyone has
had it better in the sports world over the last few weeks. On June 17th, the Indians beat the
White Sox 3-2, and on July 1st, they took Toronto to the absolute
limit to secure their 14th straight win. In the top of the 19th
inning, Darwin Barney (a Toronto infielder) gave up a solo shot to Carlos
Santana that would deliver a Cleveland win.
The Indians have been the hottest team in baseball for almost three
weeks now, and are starting to run
away with the AL Central. With so
much history for a team that hasn’t won a championship in nearly 70 years, it
was really cool to see them piece together a run like that.
3. Pete Rose gets inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.
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| (Jamie Saban/Getty Images) |
This was long overdue in my opinion. Pete Rose has been the center of controversy
for a number of years now and rightfully so.
Nevertheless, with 4,256 career hits, he is without question the
greatest contact hitter this game has ever seen. He had a Hall of Fame career, but his actions
both on and off the field led to a lifetime ban from Major League
Baseball. On June 25th
though, Rose was inducted into the Reds’ own Hall of Fame to commemorate such
an outstanding and influential career.
Here’s my take on Pete Rose. He
belongs in the Hall of Fame. He does not belong in Major League Baseball.
Period. The Hall of Fame and the MLB are
not connected at all, and it is absolutely vital to put one of the game’s
greatest, if not the greatest, hitters of all time inside. His actions were illegal under MLB code, and
for that reason he should never be allowed back in baseball. But to keep him out of the Hall of Fame? It’s
just wrong.
2. Ichiro Suzuki collects his 4,257th professional hit.
He is our generation’s Pete Rose. Perhaps the greatest contact hitter I have
ever seen in my lifetime. On June 15th,
Ichiro doubled off Fernando Rodney to register his 4,257th
professional hit, between his service time in Japan and the MLB. With all milestones come some controversy
though, as many wondered if Ichiro had dethroned Rose as the MLB’s new hit
king. Simply put, he’s not. Rose is still the guy. Unfortunately, Ichiro came into the league a
little bit later on in his career than many others do so he will never be able
to reach the MLB mark. If he had played
in America all along though, who knows?
1. Miami and Atlanta square off in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
This is a really awesome story from this past Sunday. Over the last couple of months, a baseball
stadium had been under construction at the Fort Bragg military base in North
Carolina. The stadium saw the first ever
professional sports contest to be held at an active military base and it was
truly something special to witness.
12,500 of the base’s troops, friends and family were on hand to witness
the historic event. It added a great
touch to Fourth of July weekend as America’s pastime blended with America’s
armed forces.
Honorable Mentions:
Mark Teixeira hits his 400th career home run.
Adrian Beltre records his 1500th career RBI.
The Angels tag the Red Sox for 21 runs.
The White Sox tie the MLB single-game home run record with 7.
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